TEM interfacial characterization of an experimental self-adhesive filling material bonded to enamel/dentin

A great challenge regarding the ease-of-use of composites involves the development of 'self-adhesive' composites that no longer require a separate adhesive to bond to tooth enamel/dentin.

To characterize the interfacial ultra-structure of an experimental self-adhesive filling material bonded to enamel and dentin using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

The experimental self-adhesive material was bonded to bur-cut human enamel and dentin, and to fractured (smear-free) dentin, strictly according to the manufacturers' instructions. The specimens were stored for 1 day in distilled water (37 °C) prior to further common specimen processing for TEM.

The experimental self-adhesive filling material revealed a typical micro-hybrid filler distribution. At bur-cut enamel, a tight interface was formed, mostly exhibiting only tiny micro-tags without distinct surface demineralization. At bur-cut dentin, the experimental self-adhesive filling material interacted superficially, with the surface structure being more irregular because of the bur preparation. No clear resin tags were formed due to the obstruction of dentin tubules with smear plugs. At fractured dentin, the formation of a relatively thin hybrid layer of maximum a few hundreds of nanometer was disclosed without clear surface demineralization. Distinct resin tags were formed due to the absence of smear plugs. Silver-nitrate infiltration showed a pattern of spot-like appearance of nano-leakage. Ag deposition was observed more along the dentin-adhesive interface of bur-cut dentin, as compared to that of fractured dentin.

The obtained tight interface at both enamel and dentin demonstrates the self-adhesive capacity of the experimental self-adhesive filling material.